Why on earth would i pay up to $47k for a brand new hard floor camper from 2 reputable Australian brands when for another 10K more i am in new off-road caravan territory

$57K is the lower end of the market these days....was down at Lifestyle on Saturday looking at a possible future purchase, i have it on good authority that $80K is the average spend of most people buying there these days, and thier new van we looked at whilst there is more like $115K

I have adjusted camping styles quite a few times over the last few years. This is because I decided to buy a nice boat instead of a nice caravan. What I have learnt is that for me camping is fun when its really simple. One day I will look at towing a brick around the country but hopefully by then there is a really compact but very comfortable compromise that suits two people.

I Am only 54 and I went from Tenting it to a old Jayco pop up van I did up for my local camping and my trips away with the wife and kids with no boat, And for the the Northern sorties with my mates I still tow my 5m tinny with 60hp 4/ on the back and use a tent as it never rains up north in winter and there nothing like that bit bigger boat for traverling up the remote coasts lines 50 to 60ks looking around at things, When I am older I will take the van and smaller tinny, That would change if I won lotto though upgrade the tug and to lowest and not so wide Hybread offroad van and 4,2m tinny on top of the tug, Craig

Spada's take on things is pretty close to a lot of people's circumstances.Our personal decision on going small hybrid style was also influenced by the fact that we aren't doing weekend trips.We go for long trips weeks or months at a time including remote areas. Quick set up time with minimal canvas was a must. Our van packs lots of comforts in 14.5ft. But being only 2 metres wide and lots of clearance means its goes lots of places. We live outside most of the time, but when your on the road for a while, theres times you need to be inside.Maybe I just need to admit I'm getting old and soft?

Cheers Glen

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There's a big difference between kneeling down......... and bending over.

Nope. You must be just hanging around with a lot of old people these days.....

Seriously though...There’s obviously a massive market for caravans, driving between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast you go past the 5 or so caravan shops with literally 1000s of vans parked out front in the 1km stretch of highway makes that pretty clear.

I don’t begrudge people getting old and wanting a few comforts when they travel. Just as I don’t expect everyone to love the bush as much as I do and can accept that some people actually like staying at caravan parks.

It would be nice if the above people realized that the rest of the world is not retired or on holidays and stopped choking our highways with their monstrosities so we can get on with our normal lives.

There’s still heaps of us left that have no interest in dragging around a rolling road block. We still love going places that even the best “off road” caravan has absolutely no chance of getting into.

The annual lemming march is on around Cairns at the moment. I,ve traveled all over Oz ans still prefer the tent/camper trailer set up. I cant believe the momentum of the modern glamping brigade spending hundreds of thousands on wankish huge vans/rigs just to stay on the bitumen and caravan parks. I,m no spring chicken but isn't camping supposed to be getting out into nature with fewer creature comforts and living with nature. Had 4 in a row rigs yesterday all holding up traffic and just infuriating every motorist on the highway. The radio language was very colourful. Dont think any of the rig owners had their radio on though!!. I,ve got the money to buy a big monstrosity but why would I? Keep it simplish !

The annual lemming march is on around Cairns at the moment. I,ve traveled all over Oz ans still prefer the tent/camper trailer set up. I cant believe the momentum of the modern glamping brigade spending hundreds of thousands on wankish huge vans/rigs just to stay on the bitumen and caravan parks. I,m no spring chicken but isn't camping supposed to be getting out into nature with fewer creature comforts and living with nature. Had 4 in a row rigs yesterday all holding up traffic and just infuriating every motorist on the highway. The radio language was very colourful. Dont think any of the rig owners had their radio on though!!. I,ve got the money to buy a big monstrosity but why would I? Keep it simplish !

each to thier own IMO....i don't get why so many people care or judge these days what other people own and how they "go camping"....why do they have to "rough it" if they don't want to?. For as long as I can remember there has always been people camping different ways, caravan parks aren't a modern thing after all and the bush has always been there. What's wankish to some is basic comfort to others, different strokes for different folks as they say. Access to many once "remote areas" is easier to get to now, so easier to take the comforts of home with you also. As to thier driving styles.... that's a different kettle of fish, but I've been held up by groups of people not towing aswell as towing, many don't really think when travelling in a convoy it seems, just more concentrate on what thier group is doing.

We considered caravans/hybrids before choosing to go with our hardfloor. We could have purchased a second hand bushtracker or similar for the price of the hardfloor. .

Have borrowed my parents 17ish foot pop top a few times in the past but I prefer the camping feel of canvas and an outdoor kitchen.

Main reasons for staying with a camper.

1. Liability off-road, no matter how good your vans suspension and how good your tow vehicle, size and weight becomes a liability in off-road situations. Bigger and heavier is not better if your getting off the blacktop and into real low range territory.

2. Storage, we wanted to keep our trailer in the garage, fits easily in our standard size 6x6 garage, this makes packing for trips or heading out on a last minute trip easy

3. Canvas, my wife and still want that camping/outdoors feel that comes with canvas, I like outdoor living, I like outdoor cooking, I am happy to suffer the elements along the way (flies, heat, cold, rain etc.) Many want the warm dry security a caravan offers and that fine.

For how we camp and what we enjoy the main drawback of a camper is setup time when compared to a full height caravan. That’s why we went with the fastest and easiest camper trailer we could find. It’s not as fast as a caravan but it’s not much slower either.

I think it’s horses for courses, many people are happy to stick to the road well travelled and like their creature comforts along the way. Living close to Vic’s high country I wanted the ability to get to some of the more secluded and pretty campsites the region has to offer, for me the smaller CT is the better choice for that aactivity.

Coming East back into Bourke last winter for our first taste of bitumen and humanity in 3 weeks further out was a bit of an eye opener. I don't see a van as an upgrade, but a bigger compromise and more of a hindrance to where I want to go - away from caravanners and van parks.

Spada's take on things is pretty close to a lot of people's circumstances.Our personal decision on going small hybrid style was also influenced by the fact that we aren't doing weekend trips.We go for long trips weeks or months at a time including remote areas. Quick set up time with minimal canvas was a must. Our van packs lots of comforts in 14.5ft. But being only 2 metres wide and lots of clearance means its goes lots of places. We live outside most of the time, but when your on the road for a while, theres times you need to be inside.Maybe I just need to admit I'm getting old and soft?

Cheers Glen

No i agree i also think this is also coming around because of more work flexibility so instead of only getting your 4 weeks a year off there are more options to do longer trips. I am in the same descision process as we are buying a house at the moment so our camping trips will go back to weekenders so do i stick with the origional idea of a small van or go back to a camper

We did a couple of years ago. Started with tents, many numerous types, a swag, hard floor camper trailer x 2 and then into a pop top caravan. Mainly for medical reasons for both of us. Ideally I would love a vehicle based tray back camper, maybe one day.......

We have just changed to a van from a softfloor. I just found we weren't getting away in the camper as it was just a pain to set up for the 6 of us.We actually traded the camper to the people we bought the van off so that worked out really well.Did the first trip the other weekend to Cape Hillsborough and it was great to back in and be set up in less than 20 min. I will miss the drifta kitchen though.

Wife and I upgraded to a hybrid for the creature comforts.Also has shower and toilet inside and kitchen outside.Funny enough the people who bought our camper are downsizing from a 20’ caravan because they can’t get into their favourite fishing spots...Bill

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"The problem with the world is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?"-unknown

We did a couple of years ago. Started with tents, many numerous types, a swag, hard floor camper trailer x 2 and then into a pop top caravan. Mainly for medical reasons for both of us. Ideally I would love a vehicle based tray back camper, maybe one day.......

Our neighbours just upgraded from their old slide on with a flash new one, Reckon you would need good mobility as its a decent climb up the ladder steps when on the truck .

I’m a slow moving person when it comes to fashion, so we’v just upgraded from a lifestyle explorer to a lifestyle extenda soft floor. After our basic & easy to set up no frills camper, this one is a pain in the arse to set up but very comfy & a lot bigger floor space for the girls. With the condition it’s in & the never ending extras we got with it, pain in the arse or not, we stole it.A van is next though (still a long while away), I look forward to pulling up & having a cold one straight up on an overnighter

Started with a tent and ute with canopy.No kids no wifeMoved to a tent with box trailer 1 kid 1 wifeUpgraded to Jayco swift, 2 kids same wifeFurther upgrade to Jayco Swift same kids same wifeUpgrade Jayco 12 foot expanda, no kids same wife.Still got that van and wife but age and bladders are calling for a van with toiletNext move may be a hybrid or a new Jayco 13ft Adventurer. not sure I can afford a new wife.Any replacement will be limited to sub 14ft and 2000kg.But I still have my swag for me trips and a roof top tent trailer for beach runs.Suits our needs and budget.

Hadn't seen the Jayco adventurer before, seems pretty good for about 60K

We were impressed when we seen one at the Qld van show. They have taken a Jayco to a new level beyond the outback range. $30-$40 k cheaper than the upmarket hybrids, $10k dearer than a Chinese knock off, negative being they are still a caravan width. About the only option required is a weberQ, Come with lithium power, solar etc.

Started with a tarp and air mattress,Missus, graduated to a decent tentKids, bought a good second hand Customline soft floor, which we loveCurrently looking at possible back surgery, so if that happens, we may end up with something like a Modcon Quattro so we're not managing such a big tent.When the kids are off our hands, I reckon we'll be into a custom made hybrid or a Track Topaz if we could move the kitchen outside